The Crotched Mountain Freestyle Club (CMFC) hosted its inaugural Eastern Freestyle Class A mogul event – The Hott Doggin Festival – on Feb. 23 and 24.

Almost 100 athletes competed in the singles competition on Saturday. Sunday was the elimination dual mogul competition, where racers went head-to-head on the same course.

The CMFC coaching staff built a Class A course on Pluto’s Plunge that consisted of two jumps and three sections of moguls. CMFC athlete Jack Kraus took home the gold in the men’s dual event and placed fifth in the singles event.

“I thought I skied pretty well. Some of them I really thought I was not going to be able to hold on as long as I did. The course was pretty good. It was great I won the first event here at Crotched Mountain, and it feels great that I got the win for duels,” said Kraus. “Yesterday I placed fifth place. I thought I could have skied a little better, but next time. I was happy overall. A big thanks to Coach John who taught me everything I know.”

Head coach John Carbonneau said that “to have the hometown kid take it was pretty special.”

“It was a really awesome day,” he said. “A lot of good skiing from a lot of athletes. A big shoutout to Jack for taking it all.”

Kraus cut his teeth with the Crotched Mountain Race Team as a member since age 5. His first freestyle event was in January 2020.

“Jack got his first podium at Waterville Valley two-weeks ago, so he is getting stronger this year," his father David Kraus said. “He is always working hard. He’s a weekend warrior here, going up against all the academy kids.”

Waterville Valley Freestyle Team coach Ben Vuocolo was impressed with the venue.

“This is the first time Crotched Mountain held an A event on this tour. They did an awesome job. I think every other team had a blast here,” he said. “Some of our athletes today and yesterday, had some of their best performances. Dylan Barnes came in sixth yesterday in the single event and Ariyel Drozsdik came in eighth today in duels. It was awesome. We can’t wait to come back.

Class B athletes can compete in one Class A event per season. A few younger Class B CMFC athletes, such as 13-year-old Sadie Beauregard, were excited to have the opportunity to compete on their home mountain over the weekend.

Judges base the scoring on 60% mogul run, 20% aerials, and 20% speed. Guests riding the Rocket lift had a bird’s eye view of the competition.

Athletes came from programs that included Stratton Mountain School, Gould Academy, WVBBTS Freestyle Program, Killington Mountain School, Carrabassett Valley School, Mount Snow Academy and Okemo Mountain School and Crotched Mountain Freestyle Team.

For information on freestyle programs, visit easternfreestyle.org.

Top finishers

The following were the top five finishers in each of the events at The HottDoggin Festival at Crotched Mountain:

Women’s Single Mogul Event

1st -- Evelyn Perkins, F19, Killington Mountain School.

2nd -- Kaleigh Waters, F15, Killington Mountain School.

3rd -- Breyer Rogan, F19, Stratton Mountain School.

4th -- Sophia Giuliette, F17, Stratton Mountain School.

5th -- Charlo Manganello, F17, Stratton Mountain School.

Men’s Single Mogul Event

1st -- Liam Claffey, M17, Killington Mountain School.

2nd -- Nicco Bossola, M17, Stratton Mountain School.

3rd -- Noah Blakeman, M19, Killington Mountain School.

4th -- Jake Siemering, M17, Killington Mountain School.

5th -- Jack Kraus, M17, Crotched Mountain Freestyle Club.

Women’s Dual Mogul

1st -- Breyer Rogan, F19, Stratton Mountain School.

2nd -- Sophia Giuliette, F17, Stratton Mountain School.

3rd -- Evelyn Perkins, F19, Killington Mountain School.

4th -- Brooke Englert, F17, Killington Mountain School.

5th -- Kristen Mailloux, F17, Granite State Rebels.

Men’s Dual Mogul

1st -- Jack Kraus, M17, Crotched Mountain Freestyle Club.

2nd -- NiccoBossola, M17, Stratton Mountain School.

3rd -- Liam Claffey, M17, Killington Mountain School.

4th -- Jack Mattson, M17, Granite State Rebels.

5th -- Jake Siemering, M17, Killington Mountain School.